tasting events and more. About a month
after the cruise, members will receive a
Costco Cash card that reflects a nice percentage of the member’s base cruise fare.”
If you’re a Costco Executive member,
the savings are even more impressive.
Executive members earn an additional
2 per cent reward on all Costco travel purchases—a new program that kicked off in
September 2017. Use your Capital One®
Mastercard® and you can add up to another
1 per cent cash-back reward, for a total of
up to 3 per cent, or hundreds of dollars in
additional savings.
Cruise options
As I explored Costco’s options,
I found that the cruises are orga-
nized under two categories: Kirkland
Signature™ and Buyer’s Choice. The
difference comes down to Costco’s
favourite thing: savings. “The Kirk-
land Signature specialty cruises build
in a 20 per cent value,” explains Zegers,
“while the Buyer’s Choice specialty
cruises give a 15 per cent value.”
Zegers and her team create memora-
ble cruises by selecting world-class cruise
lines, such as Celebrity Cruises,
Norwegian Cruise Line, Princess Cruises
and Royal Caribbean International, that
are sailing to destinations like Alaska, the
Caribbean, the Bahamas, South America
and Europe. Then they customize the trips
for a unique cruising experience.
A tasty example is the Buyer’s Choice
Sierra Nevada Beer Cruise. Terence Sullivan, a Costco member and product manager for the Sierra Nevada Brewing Co.,
will guide a beer-tasting cruise through
America’s last frontier, Alaska. You’ll sail
on Celebrity Solstice out of Seattle and visit
Ketchikan, the Tracy Arm fjord, Juneau
and Skagway, in Alaska, and Victoria,
British Columbia.
The cruise includes a welcome reception, a private four-course pairing luncheon, tasting events and more.
Wine, spa and the big screen
Or would you prefer a wine-tasting
experience? The Kirkland Signature
12-night Justin Vineyards Wine Cruise
sails in August on the Celebrity Eclipse
departing from Amsterdam and cruising
to Russia, Estonia and Scandinavia.
Leading the Justin wine-tasting cruise is
the winery’s founder and owner, Justin
Baldwin, and its sommelier, Jim Gerakaris,
both Costco members.
The wine cruise includes a welcome
reception, a private four-course wine-pair-ing luncheon, a beverage package for two,
customized wine-tasting events and more.
Costco is taking cruise dining to a new
level with two culinary cruises. The first
experience is the 12-night Kirkland
Signature Michael Ginor Culinary Cruise
on a Celebrity Eclipse sailing that departs
Amsterdam in late August and sails to
Belgium, France, Spain, Portugal and
THE BEST VIEW EVER
ALMOST ALL of Costco’s specialty cruise
packages come with one of the five-
starriest amenities for sailing our wonder-
ful world: balcony staterooms. If you have
not had the pleasure, these jewels are a
wondrous addition to any cruise. Why?
Say you’re sailing to a destination
like Alaska: You’ll see humpbacks below,
bald eagles above and glaciers through-
out. In the Caribbean and Bahamas,
you’ll revel in the turquoise waters.
And my favourite amenity: room ser-
vice on the balcony! Hanging with my
family and watching the ocean waters
parting before us is total bliss.—WI
R
OYAL
C
ARI
B
BE
A
N
CR
UI
SE
S
directors who will be holding Q&A ses-
sions along with screening of feature
films, short series and documentaries.
Films are shown on evenings and on sea
days throughout the 10-night cruise.
Departing from Miami, the cruise
also includes a welcome-aboard cocktail
reception, wine- and martini-tasting
seminars, and two behind-the-scenes
shipboard tours, among other perks.
Making memories
Fine food, scenery and accommodations make cruises an enjoyable experience. But specialty cruises offer a
chance to spend memorable time
with people who share your interests.
You’re bound to connect with fellow
beer and wine lovers or like-minded
yoga lovers. Who knows? Maybe
you’ll connect enough to book
another trip together.
Costco Travel has been on the
front lines for 12 years, developing
awesome cruise packages. One is bound
to fit your interests. And when your cruise
is but a memory, trekking to your mailbox
and finding a Costco Cash card inside is
the best excursion ever.
To check out all of the Costco specialty
cruises, visit Costco.ca, click “Travel” or
call 1-855-863-0357, and start dreaming. C
Gibraltar, and completes its voyage in
Barcelona. The cruise package includes a
welcome reception, a private four-course
luncheon, a beverage package for two, two
private culinary demonstrations and two
private behind-the-scenes-tours.
The second culinary cruise choice is
the Kirkland Signature Savor & Spa Cruise,
or what I call the Buh-Bye Dishwasher!
package. Royal Caribbean’s Anthem of the
Seas—one of the largest ships to sail out
there—is wall-to-wall kid, teen and adult
fun. The ship’s glass-walled North Star
capsule lifts guests 91 metres (300 feet)
over the ocean. And the ship is home to the
FlowRider surf simulator, the RipCord by
iFLY (indoor skydiving) and bionic “
bartenders”—for adults.
To increase the value, Zegers and her
crew included a spa experience, specialty
dining for four (a choice of the finest
onboard restaurants), a soda package for
two and a meal for four at Johnny Rockets,
the retro ’50s-style burger joint. Costco
Travel offers Savor & Spa Cruise packages
throughout 2018.
And does it get better than this for
fans of cruises and movies? Costco Travel
is offering the second annual Buyer’s
Choice Newport Beach Film Festival at
Sea, exclusively for Costco members.
Passengers will be joined by Gregg
Schwenk, the festival’s CEO and president of the Orange County Film Society,
and a group of movie producers and
Royal Caribbean’s
Anthem of the Seas
